GOOD THING: It's good to see a confident, practical and - dare I say - ruthless Sonja again after reading the all-around disaster that is Wrath of the Gods. As this issue opens, we are just coming into Sonja's second year as queen and things are not well. Ignoring the attacks of enemies on all sides (which is, naturally, Sonja's main concern), there is unrest among the nobles who are pushing for Sonja to take a King and a famine which blights the land. It is an interesting idea to put Sonja in the same position as Conan was thrust into in his own tales. and it seems that so far she is adjusting as well as he.
BAD THING: This was not much of an issue before, but there is very little definable difference between the former ruler's daughters, who have become Sonja's personal guard and closest confidants - apart from their hair color. Why is that a problem? Because I had to reread the last few issues a few times to puzzle out whether or not this black-haired would-be princess was a new character or if it was Sonja's field commander Janay in disguise.
The Final Verdict: A good solid issue and a good jumping-on point for the new series, marred only by some artwork that is overly dark at times and a supporting cast that is not as well defined as it could be. Still, this is the best Red Sonja story we've seen in quite a while and that counts for a lot.
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